Deus
Deus, also referred to as God by some characters in the game, is an antagonist in Xenogears. It is technically the penultimate final boss, but since the boss after Deus is extremely easy (Urobolus), Deus is considered the final boss from a gameplay difficulty perspective. Deus also has multiple forms. Deus is a hybrid between a biological base and a computer machine - an artificial intelligence in a living body. Its physical aspect is part of the Yahweh interplanetary invasion system, along with the Zohar Modifier. In the English-language release of Xenogears, this name was changed to Yabeh to avoid religious controversy. Despite its name, Deus is far from a deity, indirectly gaining its powers from an entity called the Wave Existence. However, according to the Wave Existence, the Wave Existence and Deus are inseparable, possibly because the Wave Existence is trapped in the Zohar, and Deus uses the Zohar as a power source. Origin According to the timeline of Perfect Works, Deus was developed (but not necessarily completed) in an era 15,000 years before Xenogears.https://www.flickr.com/photos/29956195@N08/2870708020/in/album-72157616593453778/ Myyah claims "Deus was built in ancient times by humans from another planet", and it is more than possible she is referring to Lost Jerusalem (Earth). Thousands of years later, Deus was completed in T.C. 4766 as the ultimate goal for the Galaxy Federation Government's Project Zohar. Intent on using this new god-like weapon to bring an end to a long interstellar war, the Federation has Deus perform some experimental test runs in NGC 6744. During this time, something happens (possibly something related to Deus combining with the Zohar) that causes Deus' A.I. to malfunction and go on a destructive rampage, all but annihilating the nearby colonized planet "Michtam". The Federation's military was eventually able to subdue this monstrosity, but the resulting casualties were innumerable. Eldridge takeover Afterwards, Deus is dismantled into its various cores and sealed. Deus is loaded on board the Eldridge for transferal to another planet. However, Deus took over the ship and began steering the Eldridge to the "main planet". Due to Shigeyoshi Inoue, both Deus and the Eldridge crash landed on the planet where Xenogears takes place. Deus sustained heavy damage. Revival When the Eldridge crashed onto the planet, a program termed System Hawwa was started. Using a red-haired being formed from a boy's contact with the biological computer Kadomony before the crash, System Hawwa transformed the original Elehaym into her counterpart, the original Myyah. Original Myyah went on to create a biological assembler plant, creating the first human beings Cain and the Gazel Ministry. In order to manage these new humans, she created two duplicates of herself: Myyah, the Complement, and Elly, the Antitype. The first Myyah was meant as a manager, bearing the powers of a Deus System weapon and tasked to strengthen and gather all the genetic parts the Deus System Mode needed to repair and reactivate its new body.Perfect Works, pg. 170 This meant choosing, leading, and culling sections of humanity as needed, in order to provide the perfect parts for Deus. Xenogears After Mahanon is raised, the party fights its first form inside it. Later, Deus is transferred to the Merkava and it appears as a dome with eyes, but it isn't actually fought as a boss. After the Merkava is raised, Deus terraforms with the planet. Inside, it is supported by four pillars, which are essentially mini-bosses and are symbolic of killing angels and archangels. Defeating each mini-boss weakens Deus. If the player skips the mini-bosses and directly attacks Deus, Deus is a harder boss. *Defeating "Metatron" will seal Deus' "Earthly Anointment" AOE attack. Metatron is an archangel in Judaism. *Defeating "Sundel" will seal Deus' healing (4,000 HP). Sundel is a reference to Sandalphon, an archangel in Jewish and Christian writings. *Defeating "Marlute" will seal Deus' "Fuel Drain" attack. Marlute is a reference to Marut, an angel in Islam. *Defeating "Harlute" will seal Deus' "Heavenly Anointment" AOE attack. Harlute is a reference to Harut, an angel in Islam. Harlute.png|Harlute. Marlute.png|Marlute. Metatron.png|Metatron. Sundel.png|Sundel. If the player defeats all four orbs, Deus has 40,000 HP. If not, it has 75,000 HP and it will use its full arsenal of attacks. After defeating Deus, Urobolus is next. Stages and evolution * Omega 1: Appears in the beginning of the game, preserved in a reactor. Its size is approximately 20-30 meters. In this state, Deus is already capable of destroying a planet. * Stage 1: After the Eldridge crashed on the new planet, Deus sunk to the ocean floor and its body grows for 9999 years. It is described as having an alien form that is partially rotting, petrified, grotesque, and giant. * Stage 2: After the transport system of Deus, Merkava, is destroyed, it evolves to something which resembles a green shell dome with blue indigo eyes. Its true body is hidden inside this vortex-shaped shell. * Stage 3: In order to expand its body further, Deus begins terraforming to merge with the planet. The evolved grown body of Deus in the interior is its true form. Etymology The name Deus comes from the Latin word for "god". Originally "Yahweh" was the name for Deus, as explained by Richard Honeywood, but due to his concern that the name could upset fundamental Christians, the name was changed to "Yabeh" in the Japanese version, and "Deus" in the North American release.Cohen, Drew (2011-04-22). "How One Man Stopped Square-Enix From Letting Gamers Kill Yahweh". Kotaku. Trivia * Deus, along with Urobolus, is based on the concept of the Demiurge. * While descending into Deus' core, a one-winged male and one-winged female figure are seen holding hands - they are dependent on each other in order to fly. As seen in the Nisan cathedral, this relates to Marguerite Fatima's story which she claims is "a legend handed down in Nisan." * The bodies of Gazel Ministry were once part of the organic elements in the core circuit that made up Deus. There were two types of organic elements. The female type was called 'Anima', while the male type was called 'Animus'. They were also created with the added ability to become mobile weapons for Deus. * The boss theme of Deus is "Awakening". * The name of the system Deus is a part of, Yahweh interplanetary invasion system, is a reference to Yahweh, Abrahamic god of the Hebrew Bible. This was changed to 'Yabeh' in both the Japanese and North American releases of the game.Cohen, Drew (2011-04-22). "How One Man Stopped Square-Enix From Letting Gamers Kill Yahweh". Kotaku. * In Xenosaga Episode III: Also sprach Zarathustra, Abel's Ark has four orbs, a reference to Deus' four pillars. * Also in Episode III and also seen in Abel's Ark, Ω Metempsychosis is also probably a Deus reference. Where Deus sported two tiny angels, Omega Metempsychosis is accompanied by two lookalikes resembling Fei's Gear Weltall and Elly's Gear Vierge. * The general premise and presentation of Deus strongly resembles that of Lavos, the main antagonist of Chrono Trigger. This likely stems from the fact that not only did many of the developers who worked on Chrono Trigger go on to work on Xenogears (most notably Masato Kato, the main writer of story) but also because Xenogears was initially conceived as a potential sequel to the SNES game. See also * Deus (Larval Stage) * Deus (True Form) Gallery Ship4.gif|Omega 1. Deus1.png|Omega 1. DeusRot.png|Deus 1. XenoDeus.png|Deus 1. DeusShell.png|Deus 2. DeusDome.png|Deus 2. Deus3.png|Deus 2. Deus4.png|Deus 3. Deus5.png|Deus 4. DeusConcept1.png|Concept art. DeusConcept2.png|Concept art. DeusConcept3.png|Concept art. Xeno-deus-rough2.png|Concept art. Xeno-deus-final-stage-head.png|Concept art (head). Xeno-deus-body-part.png|Concept art. Xeno-deus-final-stage-full-view.png|Concept art. DEUS07.jpg|Concept art of Deus' final complete form. 46-rUKPM.jpg|Deus' arms are malakh angels. Category:Xenogears bosses Category:Xenogears characters Category:Antagonists